N2 golfer joins club

GroundUp told Sontsonga’s story in March. He explained his love of golf and his hopes to someday be a club member and take part in golf challenges.

The Bidvest Group have paid for Sontsonga’s membership of the King David Golf Club in Montana. They have sponsored his R4,500 membership fee and a further R8,500 unlimited green fees for a year. This means Sontsonga can play more or less whenever he wants to — for 12 months.

As we approached Sontsonga on the plush green field of King David Golf Club, he shouted to us, “I’ll be with you now ladies; just let me hit these two balls.”

He positions himself, then hits one ball across the field, where one of the club’s coaches observes. Before hitting his second ball, he mumbles his disappointment at the “poor performance” he just gave. He then hits his last ball, not to his satisfaction, but he points out that it was better than the last.

Sontsonga in action at King David Golf Club. Photo by Christine Ayela.

“I officially started here as a member early May. Remember I used to come here every Sunday, but now with this membership, I am able to come whenever I want. My membership is 12 months and I am finding the experience so far so amazing. It’s no comparison to where I used to play. I am happy because now I can even keep score and monitor the strength of each game I play. Prior to being interviewed by GroundUp, there had been a man who continuously saw me playing on the N2, and after my story was published on GroundUp, he approached me and offered me help because he said he was from a big company. So he spoke to his colleagues and the membership was set up for me. I am so grateful for all of this and I come here every single day to play. I love golf,” said Sontsonga.

Sontsonga said his biggest challenge now was transport because it wasn’t easy for him to get to the golf club. He took a taxi from Nyanga and because of where the taxi drops him off, he had to walk a distance with his gear to get to the club and sometimes he does not have taxi fare. It takes him an hour to get to the club, he wakes up at 6am, leaves the house before 7am and gets to the club at 8am.

As he explains his full day of golf, he has a big smile on his face and says “I would definitely like one day to participate in a golf tournament because I know I have what it takes. I am in top form. Everyone is proud of me that I have finally made it to a golf club and I am proud of myself. Thank you to GroundUp.”

Sontsonga used to play along the N2. Photo by Masixole Feni.